Lubricating apparatus



LUBRICATING APEARATUS Original Filed Nov. 15. 1939 Patented Dec. 21, 1943 STES .EPIC

LUBRICATING APPARATUS Ernest W. Davis, River Forest, Ill., assignor to Stewart-Warner Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Virginia 4 Claims. (Cl. 184-105) This invention relates to improvements in lubricating apparatus, and more particularly to lubricant receiving ttings. The present application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 303,980, led November 13, 1939J for Lubricating apparatus.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel fitting for use with a clamp-type coupler and which may be engaged by the coupler throughout a wide range of angular relationships.

An object of the present invention is to provide novel co-operating ttings and couplers such that the coupler may readily be attached to any of the fittings and moved throughout a wide range of angular relationships in any direction,v

meanwhile maintaining a perfect grease seal between the coupler and fitting.

A further object is to provide novel iittings which accomplish the above objectives, and which may be manufactured relatively inexpensively.

Another object is to provide a novel lubricating apparatus permitting universal relative movement between the coupler and tting, and in which the coupler and tting are clamped together by the uid pressure of the lubricant.

An additional object is to provide a coupler and fitting having the above advantages, and

.wherein the novel arrangement of parts enables a shorter fitting to be used. f-

Other objects and advantages will become apf parent from the following description and attached drawing, wherein:

The drawing is a vertical medial sectional view of the coupler and fitting shown with the coupler attached to the fitting. I

In the drawing, the lubricating apparatus comprises generally a coupler I2 and a lubricant fitting or nipple I8 of the kind commonly used in connection with manual and power operated lubricant compressors for lubricating bearings of automobiles and other pieces of machinery. The grease receiving fitting I8, threaded in a grease hole leading to each of the bearings to be lubricated, such, for instance, as an automobile spring shackle, co-operates with the coupler to form a quickly detachable connection by means of which lubricant is forced from the coupler I2 to the bearing.

" drical recess 28 of greater diameter separated surface 40 in close contact with the inner cylindrical surface of the recess 28 and with its internal bore 42 sldably fitted around the hollow piston 35. The top end 34 of the packing nut 36 is of greater diameter than the cylindrical portion 38 and is provided with external threads The top portion 48 of the body 24 is of reduced section and has threads 5i! of the same pitch diameter and ofthe same pitch as the nut 36.

A generally hemispherical hollow cap 52 is internally threaded at 54 to fit the threads 46 and 50 of the packing nut 36 and body 24. Thus, the packing nut 35 may be threaded into the cap 52 and screwed tightly in place against a shoulder 55, by means of a screwdriver or similar tool, extending into a kerf 58 in the top surface of the packing nut. The cap 52 may then be threaded to the body 2li, thereby forcing the annular portion 33 of the packing nut downwardly inside the recess 28 and around the movable piston 34.

When the cap 52 has been suiciently threaded to the body 24, relative movement between these parts is prevented by tightening a safety head set screw 60, threaded radially through the lower portion of the cap 52.

Beneath the annular portion 38 of the packing nut 36, the recess 28 contains a quantity of packing material 32 supported upon an annular ring 62. This annular ring B2 is maintained resiliently in place by a coil spring 64, which extends around the lower end of the piston 34 and is compressed with its ends respectively against the lower surface of the ring 62 and the lower end of the recess 26.

Lubricant enters the coupler I2 from the lubricant compressor through a pipe nipple 56 having an associated valve, not shown, the nipple being threaded radially into the recess 26 through the lower portion of the body 2d. This lubricant, during a lubricating operation, will bear against the lower surf-ace of the annular packing ring 52, and by its hydraulic pressure aids in urging the ring upwardly to compress the packing 32. Thus, the packing 32 is compressed to a greater extent during the actual lubricating operation than when the coupler is disjoined from a fitting.

A shoulder 68 at the top of the central opening i2 in the packing nut 36 co-operates with a complementary shoulder fil on the movable piston 34 to limit outward movement of the piston. Normally, when the coupler is disjoined from the fitting, the piston 3d will be urged outwardly against the shoulder 6B by a coil spring 12 compressed between the lower end of the piston and the bottom of the recess 26. To keep this spring` l2 concentric with respect to the piston and the packing spring 6d, the lower end of the spring T2 fits around a boss 'l at the bottom of the recess 26, while the upper end iits within a counterbored spring seat 'E6 located in the lower end of the piston Sil.

It will be seen that during a lubricating operation, the hydraulic pressure of the lubricant in the recess 26 will aid the spring 'l2 in urging the piston 3d outwardly.

The outward end, or nose, 1B of the piston 34 is hemispherical and projects somewhat beyond the upper surface of the packing nut 36. This nose 13 serves to seal the coupler to the fitting I8 during a lubricating operation. The nose of the piston is provided with a, grease orifice 86 leading to a counterbored hole 82 extending axially through the piston to the recess 26. During a lubricating operation, the lubricant therefore flows from the recess 26 to the fitting by way of the hole 32 and orifice 66.

The interior surface configuration of the portion of the cap 52 above the packing nut 36 is that of a spherical segment and serves as a socket 84 for forming a swivel connection with a shoulder 86 of a head 88 of the fitting I8.

To permit the head 36 to extend inside the couler, the cap 52 is provided with a frustoconical hole 92 extending through the outward end of the cap and axially aligned with the piston 34. This hole 92 is of such a size that when the coupler is joined to the fitting, as shown in the drawing, for instance, the coupler may be tilted in any direction to a considerable extent before a portion of the side wall of the hole 92 is brought against a neck portion 6d of the fitting. In the embodiment shown, as may be seen from the drawing,

this 'singular displacement of the coupler relative to the fitting may be as much as approximately fourteen degrees in any direction. v

In order to enable the coupler to be joined to the fitting, a slot 96 extends through the domed portion of the cap and joins the axial Vhole 92. As may be seen in the drawing, this slot has a configuration complementary to the profile of the head and neck of the fitting, and thus permits a longitudinal movement of the coupler in a direction normal to the axis of the hole 92, to slip the cap of the coupler over the head of the iitting and to bring the cap and coupler into the relationship shown in the drawing.

The fitting lil, which (Jo-operates with the above-mentioned coupler, comprises a sleeve having a threadedportion 98 at one end to be fsecured in a grease hole and a head 68 at the opposite end for engagement by the coupler. Betweenj the ends, a portion of the fitting preferably has a hexagonal section S66 for engagement by a wrench for inserting or removing the fitting. A hole |62 extends axially into the fitting from the threaded end and is joined near the head of the fitting by a smaller orifice Hifi through which y grease is forced into the fitting. At the juncture of the hole 662 and orice ltd a frustoconical seat |66 is formed against which a ball check valve 66 is'urged by a coil spring H6. The oppositeend of this coil spring H6 is supported by an inwardly rolled shoulder H2 formed at the outlet end of the fitting.

The head 86 of the fitting is supported upon the neck 94, which, as has been previously stated, is somewhat smaller in diameter than the holeI 92 in the end of the coupler cap 52. The end of face H4 of the head 88 is `a frustum of a cone, the altitude of which is quite small in comparison to its base diameter. That is, this face H4 may be considered as a plane surface that has been modified sufficiently so that as the coupler is swiveled about the fitting, no portion of this end face will come into contact with the upper face of the packing nut 36, while the portion of the face surrounding the orifice |04 will at all times be spaced only a slight distance from this packing nut 36.

The shoulder 86 of the fitting is complementary to the spherical surface 84 of the cap 52, and since this shoulder is symmetrical with the orifice 104, the center of this orifice will always remain in one position relative to the coupler so long as the shoulder 86 remains against the spherical surface 84.

With the coupler slipped over the fitting head, as shown in the drawing, the spherical nose i8 of the piston 3d is urged outwardly and centers itself within the orifice [64 and effectively seals the joint between these two parts. In order that this seal may be eiiective within the complete range of possible angular lrelationships of the coupler relative to the fitting, the center of curvature of the spherical surface 813 should coincide with the center of curvature ofthe spherical nose 'i6 when this nose is centered within the orifice lll. It should be noted also that the orifice 86 in the nose of the piston should be considerably smaller than the orifice E64 in the tting, as otherwise an effective seal would not be maintained excepting throughout a comparatively narrow range of angular relationships between the coupler and fitting.

In operation, the fittings will be threaded into grease holes leading to portions of the automobile or other machine to be lubricated. The cap of the coupler is then slipped over one of the fittings until the nose 18 of the piston snaps into vthe orifice I. In this position the coupler may be tilted in any direction, or it may be turned around the tting throughout a complete circle. The valve associated with the nipple 66 is then opened to allow lubricant under pressure to be forced through the coupler and fitting into the part to be lubricated. The hydraulic vpressure produced by the lubricant in the chamber formed by the recess 26 forces the packing 32 more tightly around the piston 3'4, and presses the nose 18 of the piston more tightly into the orifice |34. A tight grease seal is thereby maintained throughout the lubricating operation.

At the end of the lubricating operation, the valve associated with the nipple .'66 is closed, thereby allowing the pressure in the recess 26 to drop and the coupler to be pulled free of the fitting.

Having described my invention and illustrated a preferred embodiment thereof, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A headed lubricant receiving fitting adapted permanently to be secured to a bearing to be lubricated and to cooperate with a detachable coupler comprising a body portion havingr a grease receiving orifice at itsoutward end, a surface of revolution sloping backwardly away from said orifice, said surface of revolution comprising a truncated obtuse cone, and a shoulder concentric with said orifice, said shoulder comprising a spherical surface having a center of curvature located beyond the outward end of said itting.

2. A headed lubricant receiving fitting adapted permanently to be secured to a bearing to be 1ubricated and to cooperate with a detachable coupler comprising a body portion having a, grease receiving orice at its outward end, and a shoulder concentric with said orice, said shoulder comprising a spherical surface having a center of curvature located beyond the outward end of said fitting. v

3. A headed lubricant receiving tting adapted permanently to be secured to a bearing to be lubricated and to cooperate with a detachable coupler, said fitting comprising a body portion having a lubricant receiving orifice, a couplerengaging sealing surface surrounding said orifice,

and a shoulder concentric with said oriflce and adapted to form a detachable connection with a coupler, said shoulder comprising a spherical surface having a center of curvature located on the coupler side of said first named surface.

4. A headed lubricant receiving tting adapted permanently to be secured to a bearing to be lubricated and to cooperate with a detachable coupler, said fitting comprising a body portion having a lubricant receiving orice, a couplerengaging sealing surface surrounding said orifice, a surface of revolution sloping backwardly away from said orifice, said last-named surface comprising a truncated obtuse cone, and a shoulder concentric with said oriiice and adapted to form a detachable connection with a coupler, said shoulder comprising a spherical surface having a center of curvature located on the coupler side of said sealing surface.

ERNEST W. DAVIS. 

